Utah forecast: A matter of fire and ice, snow and heat

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Fire and ice: an epitaph for the planet  or more immediately, a good way to sum up Utah's weather entering the midweek.

"Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice," the poet Robert Frost wrote.

Northeastern Utah, ignoring stereotypical June, gets some of the ice, with a Winter Weather Advisory in effect until noon Wednesday in the northern and central mountains.

"It is snowing as hard here as it snows in any time in the winter," said Wanship resident Gwen Woolstenhulme, unable to see across her street during a Tuesday afternoon storm. To the east, in Summit Park, 3 inches of snow fell, the National Weather Service reported.

Meanwhile, there was more of the fire aspect for the southern reaches of the state. Throughout southwestern and southcentral Utah, hot, dry conditions raised fire hazards. Southern winds reached 59 mph on Tuesday, according to NWS records.

The Wasatch Front looked for thunderstorms and rain showers in the valleys while snow dusted elevations above 8,000 feet. Wednesday's daytime highs were to struggle into the low to mid-60s, up a few degrees from Tuesday's forecast.

Southern Utahns could expect high temperatures in the mid-80s Wednesday, a few degrees cooler than Tuesday's temperatures.

The Utah Division of Air Quality rated the entire state "green," of healthy, with the exception of Washington County, which had a "yellow," or compromised air quality grade.

The Intermountain Allergy & Asthma website's pollen index on Friday was "very high" only for grass, though mold and plantain earned "moderate" grades for allergens.

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